When was the last time you had a conversation with a four year old kid? Did you connect? And if you were lucky, you would have noticed that no sooner you kneeled down and talked to him from his level of eye contact…. You both connected.

But why is that when you talk down to him, he pretends to listen and does not. Why does the kid openly reflect that he is uncomfortable? This is clearly because that is how we are biologically engineered.

In the last four weeks, while attending club contests, I realized that many speakers who delivered a speech with good content did not fare well with the judges marking. I wondered why until I myself occupied the judges chair and realized that no sooner you are expected to judge the speech, your judgment comes under one umbrella…………. “Did the delivery connect with the judge or not.” If it did, the speaker could be marked higher than if the speaker did not! This may sound a bit confusing but I would like you to imagine

Speech # 1 Scenario: A Toastmaster delivers a speech stating that at 6 years of age he was hit by a car and thrown away wherein he had to miss 30 days of schooling.

Speech # 2 Scenario: Toastmaster delivers a speech stating that this November when coming out of the club meeting, he was hit by a car and thrown away wherein he was hospitalized for 30 days . Now my questions to you is – Which speech scenario would you mark higher?

Have you ever felt that you delivered your speech and the audience faces were blank with dead pan expressions…. Your speech fell flat……… It has happened to me.

There are many formulas for crafting a speech. The best seller“Made to Stick” lays a formula called “SUCCES”; success with a single S. Simple; Unpredictable; Credible; Concrete; Emotionand Story to craft your message. The speech should be Simple. … Strip your delivery to the core. A successful defense lawyer says if you argue 10 points, by the time jury goes back they would not remember any”; Unpredictable…. break the audience guessing game; Credible…should have reference from credible sources; Concrete…should have concrete images; Emotion……make them feel something; Story…tell stories. Follow the SUCCES principal and you have an attention grabbing speech.

Then, there are gut feel formulas for crafting speech and my gut feeling says focus on three things. Attention; Engagement and Message or action. And you have a brilliant piece of delivery. Crafting a speech is like dating getting your dates attention; engaging in conversation and asking for the next date.

There are various fundamentals to get attention and this could be achieved by asking powerful question, using humor; a prop; a gesture, sharing a personnel story or a mystery not letting the cat of the box and a powerful quote.

Engagement is the meat and the best way to connect is “as Craig Valentine says 4F’s. share your First, Fears, Frustration and failure. And engage them in a dialogue physical or at a mental level.

Message or action. Tell them what you have told them and show them how and why they should follow the action plan.

Finally remember to add the TITLE to your speech.“Attention, Engage and Message”